Toy musical instrument and actuating mechanism therefor



Dec. 20, 1960 c. J. MERCHANT TOY'MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND ACTUATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Aug. 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. CHARLES J. MERCHANT BY u. A 6 ATTORNEY Dec. 1960 c. J. MERCHANT 2,964,988

TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND ACTUATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Aug. 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gar W M h in NVEN TOR. t, if? .umv CHARLES J MERCHANT nited States Patent TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND ACTUATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Charles J. Merchant, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to Homer W. Giles, 2588 S. Green Road, University Heights, Ohio Filed Aug. 5, 1957, Ser. No. 676,175

13 Claims. (Cl. 84-101) actuator mechanism and a record member, which con-' trols the actuator mechanism to play the selected tune, and then picking out the tune manually on the keyboard. Thus, the present invention can be effective to greatly enhence the educational value of the toy piano on which it is installed and to stimulate the childs musical interest. Moreover, the present actuating mechanism may be in corporated in a toy piano without requiring substantial modification in the basic construction of the piano and without adding unduly to its cost of manufacture. Also, it is of simplified and durable construction, is entirely mechanical in its operation, and may be operated easily by even a very young child.

While the following detailed description is directed specifically to a toy piano which incorporates the present invention, it is to be understood that it is readily applicable to other musical instruments, as well, such as music boxes, and to other mechanisms which it is desired to operate under the control of a perforated record or con trol member.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, showing a toy piano which embodies the present invention;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are fragmentary perspective views showing a portion of the actuating mechanism in the piano in successive stages of its operation as the crank is turned to operate it;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts broken away, showing the actuating mechanism positioned as in Fig. 4 and cooperating with the strikers which operate the sounding elements in the piano;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 66 in Fig. l and showing the entry chute for the perforated record chart which controls the cooperation between the actuating mechanism and the strikers in the piano; and

Figure 7 shows a perforated record sheet of the type which may be used in the present piano.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the present invention is embodied in toy piano having the usual manually operated keyboard 10. A plurality of sounding elements in the form of metal rods 11 are supported in cantilever fashion by a cross bar 12 which extends transversely from one side of the piano to the other, there being one sounding element for each operative key in the keyboard. Wooden strikers 13 are connected to the rear ends of flexible strips 14, which are secured at their front ends to the tops of the keys just behind the upstanding front panel 15 on the ICC piano housing. The keys which make up the piano keyboard are pivotally mounted on the housing in the usual manner. When a key is struck the corresponding striker 13 hits the overlying sounding rod 11 to produce the note which corresponds to the key struck. Thus far, the toy piano arrangement is entirely conventional and has been outlined here merely to illustrate the background of the: present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a resilient pad 16 of foam rubber or other suitable material mounted on top of a horizontal wall 17 (Fig. 5) which extends across the piano above the sounding rods 11. A plurality of operator elements in the form of striker elements 18 are mounted on the pad, each such element comprising a fiat horizontal segment 19 adhesive- 1y secured to the top of pad 16, a depending front leg 20 which extends down from the front end of the horizontal segment 19 across the front of the pad 16in spaced overlying relation to a sounding bar 11, and an upstanding rear leg 21 which projects up from the back end of the fiat segment 19 at the back edge of pad 16. Pref erably, each striker element 18 is in the form of an integral sheet metal stamping. The pad 16 is formed with a plurality of slits 22 between the respective striker elements 18 so that each striker element has an individual mounting on the pad.

The actuating mechanism for operating the striker elements 18 comprises a plurality of actuator arms 23, each having a depending rear lip 24 for engagement with the upstanding lip 21 on the corresponding striker element 18. The opposite ends of the actuator arms define loops 25 which rotatably receive a rod 26 extending transversely across the piano. Rod 26 carries spacer sleeves 27 between the adjacent acuator arms 24 to maintain the actuator arms spaced apart in accordance with the spacing between the corresponding striker elements 18.

At one end the rod 26 is soldered to one side of a rotary shaft member in the form of the pivot arm 28 of a manually operated crank 29. The crank pivot arm 28 is rotatably received in an opening in the upstanding side 30 of a metal support plate 31 which extends between the sides of the piano housing. The crank pivot arm 28 extends freely through an opening in the adjacent side 32 of the piano housing. At its opposite end the rod 26 (Fig. 1) is soldered to the same side of a pivot pin 33 rotatably mounted in the upstanding opposite side 34 of plate 31. The pivot pin 33 has its axis aligned with that of the crank pivot arm 28. The respective upstanding sides 30 and 34 of plate 31 have out-turned horizontal flanges 30a and 34a, respectively, which are secured to the top edges of the respective sides 32 and 35 of the piano housing.

Since the rod 26 is offset from the axis of the crank pivot arm 28, when the crank is turned the rod 26 revolves in a circle about the axis of the crank pivot arm.

Below the actuator arms 23 and a short distance rearward from crank pivot arm 28, there is provided a rod 36 fixedly secured at its opposite ends to the upstanding sides 30 and 34 of plate 31. Preferably, a layer 37 of felt of other soft material is provided on the surface of the rod for engagement by the undersides of the actuator arms 23.

Due to their weight the actuator arms 23 are in continuous engagement with the felt layer 37 on rod 36 throughout the rocking movement imparted to them when the crank 29 is turned.

To operate the actuator mechanism the crank 29 is turned clockwise in Fig. 1. When the crank is in its upright position (Fig. 3), the rod 26 which carries the actuator arms 23 is positioned forward of the crank pivot arm 28. Therefore, the actuator arms 23 are disposed toward the front of the piano. The depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 are positioned slightly forward of the upstanding legs 21 on the striker elements 18, with the lower ends of the lips 24 being slightly above the upper ends of the legs 21.

As the crank is turned further (clockwise in Figs. 1 and 3-5), the rod 26 moves up around the axis of the. crank pivot arm 28, which causes the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 to move down to a position below the upper ends of theupstanding legs 21 on the strikers 18 and slightly forward therefrom.

Then, as the crank is continued to be turned, the rod 26 moves to the rear of the axis of the crank pivot arm 28, carrying the actuator arms 23 with it until the depending lips 24 on the actuator arm engage the upstanding legs 21 on the strikers 1-8. As the strikers 18 are pushed rearward to permit the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 to clear them, the resilient pad 16 whichsupports the strikers is deformed by being compressed at the rear. This lifts the depending front legs 20 of the strikers up away from the sounding bars 11.

Then when the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 move clear of the strikers, the resilience of pad 16 causes it to spring back opposite to the direction in which it was deformed. As a consequence, the front legs 20 of the strikers move down and strike the corresponding sounding rods to sound the corresponding notes.

After moving clear of the strikers, the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 are positioned rearward beyond the upstanding lips 21 on the strikers. At this time the rod 26 is just entering its upswing, and as the crank is continued to be turned the rod pulls the actuator arms 23 forward and the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms pass over the upstanding legs 21 on the striker elements 18, back to the Fig. 3 position.

For controlling the operation of the actuator mechanism so that only preselected notes are sounded at a time, there is provided an elongated flat record sheet 40 of paper or the like, which has suitable columns of perforations 41 therein. The respective columns are positioned to register with the corresponding actuator arms 23.

The top 42 of the piano housing has a transverse slot 43 into which the record sheet may be inserted. Below this slot a guide chute is formed by sheets of paper 44 and 45 (Fig. 6) secured to the underside of the top of the housing by means of blocks 46 and 47. The chute extends downward and rearward from the entry slot 43 and guides the record sheet down into the transverse plate 31.

For advancing the record sheet intermittently, there are provided a pair of actuator arms 23a at opposite ends of the rod 26. These actuator arms 23a and their mountings on rod 26 are identical to the described arrangement for the actuator arms 23. However, there are no corresponding striker elements below them. Rather, they simply engage intermittently in the evenly spaced per forations 50 at the opposite sides of the record sheet so as to move the record sheet intermittently as the crank 29 is turned.

In operation, the crank 29 initially is positioned as shown in Fig. 4. The record sheet is inserted down through the slot 4-3 until its leading edge engages the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23. Then, the user begins to turn the crank clockwise in Figs. 1 and 3-5. During the first turn the auxiliary actuator arm's 23a engage in the first row of side perforations 50 on the record sheet and advance it. Upon successive turns of the crank this same action is repeated, so that the record sheet is advanced intermittently a predetermined distance each turn of the crank.

As the record sheet moves toward the rear of the piano it passes between the depending lips 24 on the actuator arms 23 and the upstanding legs 21 on the strikers 18, preventing them from engaging and coasting in the manner described previously unless there happens to be a perforation in the record sheet at that particular actuator arm. Fth'en this-happens, the depending lip 24 o'n'th'e actuator arm is free to drop down through the perforation to engage and operate the underlying striker as described.

Thus, the perforations in the record sheet determine the notes which are played as the crank is turned to advance the record sheet and operate the actuating mechanism.

After passing back beyond the actuators the record sheet moves through the open back end of the piano housing.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiment of the present invention constitutes a simplified and durable arrangement for operating a toy piano under the control of a perforated record sheet. It requires no substantial modification in the basic design of the toy piano itself and does not interfere with the playing of the piano on the keyboard in the usual way. It is entirely mechanical in operation, requiring no electrical, pneumatic, or other auxiliary power source since all of the power required to operate it is supplied by turning the crank. However, the shaft member 28 might be turned by an extremely small, battery-operated motor, if desired. It does not require the record member to perform anything more than a control function and the force exerted by the actuator arms on the record member is simply that due to their weight, which is much less than the force with which they actuate the striker elements. Accordingly, therefore, a thin perforated record sheet may be used such as may be produced quite inexpensively.

It will be apparent that the principles of the present invention may be applied to other toy musical instruments and to the other mechanisms operated under the control of a perforated record member. Accordingly, it is to be understood that, while there has been described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing a specific presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, various modifications, omissions and refinements which depart from the disclosed embodiment may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, the record sheet might be advanced by means of a single auxilary actuator arm engaging in a column of perforations running down the center of the record sheet. Alternately, other means for advancing the record sheet might be provided.

I claim:

1. In a musical instrument having a plurality of sounding elements, the improvement which comprises a plurality of operator elements positioned to operate the sounding elements, a plurality of actuators mounted for movement to engage and actuate the operator elements, and driving means including means for advancing a perforated record member between the actuators and the operator elements and means separate from said record member for moving the actuators to project through the perforations in the record member to engage and actuate the corresponding operator elements for operating the corresponding sounding elements.

2. In a toy piano having a plurality of sounding elements, the improvement which comprises a plurality of strikers positioned to strike the sounding elements when actuated, a plurality of actuators mounted for movement to engage and actuate the strikers, and driving means including means for advancing a perforated record sheet between the actuators-and the strikers and means separate from said record sheet for moving the actuators to project through the perforations in the record sheet to engage and actuate the corresponding strikers to operate the corresponding sounding elements.

3. In a toy musical instrument having a plurality of sounding elements therein, the improvement which comprises a corresponding plurality of striker elements positioned to operate the sounding elements, resilient supportm'ean's supporting the striker elements, each striker said rotary member and offset from the latters axis of rotation so that the rod revolves as to rotary member rotates, said rod extending transversely with respect to the striker elements, a plurality of actuators having hinge connections to the rod, said actuators extending away from the rod and having protruding lips for engagement respectively with the projecting portions of the striker elements as the rotary member rotates, and means operated by the rotation of the rotary member for advancing a perforated record member between the actuators and the striker elements, said rotary member when rotated revolving the rod which rocks the actuators to move their protruding lips through the perforations in the record member and into engagement with the projecting portions of the striker elements to displace the striker elements and stress said resilient support means which moves the displaced striker elements into engagement with the corresponding sounding elements after the corresponding actuators have disengaged from the striker elements.

4. In a toy piano having a plurality of sounding elements therein, the improvement which comprises a corresponding p-lurality of striker elements in overlying relation to the sounding elements, resilient pad means supporting the striker elements, each striker element having an upstanding leg, a shaft member rotatably mounted on the piano, a rod connected to said shaft member and offset from the rotational axis of the shaft member so that the rod revolves about the rotational axis of the shaft member as the latter rotates, said rod extending transversely across the piano and disposed higher than said pad, a plurality of actuator arms having hinge connections to said rod, said actuator arms extending away from the rod and having depending lips for engagement with the upstanding legs on the striker elements, a support member extending transversely across the piano and disposed between said rod and said depending lips on the actuator arms and slidably supporting the actuator arms as the crank is turned, and means operated by rotation of the shaft member for advancing a perforated record sheet below said actuator arms and above said striker elements, said actuator arms in response to the rotation of the shaft member being carried by the rod and sliding and rocking on said support member to move their depending lips down through the underlying perforations in the record sheet and into engagement with the upstanding legs on the striker elements to move the striker elements and compress said pad means and then passing free of the striker elements to permit said pad means to move the striker elements into engagement with the sounding elements.

5. In a toy piano having a housing with opposite sides and a top and a plurality of sounding elements in said housing, the improvement which comprises the combination of resilient and compressible pad means extending from side to side in the piano and disposed at a higher level than the sounding elements, a plurality of striker elements mounted on said pad means and spaced apart therealong in accordance with the positions of the sounding elements, each of said striker elements comprising a mounting portion secured to the top of said pad means, a depending front leg extending down from said mounting portion and below the pad into overlying relation to the corresponding sounding element, and an upstanding leg which projects up from said mounting portion at the rear of said pad means, a shaft member rotatably mounted on the piano, an elongated rod connected to said shaft member and extending parallel thereto and offset from the rotational axis of said shaft member so that the rod revolves about said axis as the shaft rotates, said being disposed forward of said support and said rod in its uppermost position as it revolves being disposed higher than said support, and a plurality of actuator arms which at one end rotatably receive the rod, said actuator arms extending back from the rod across the top of said support and rearward from said support having depending lips which extend down toward the striker elements, said actuator arms bearing against the top of said support due to their weight throughout the revolving movement of the rod, and means for advancing a perforated record sheet over the striker elements and below the actuator arms, said actuator arms as the rod revolves sliding on said support and rocking about said support to move their depending lips rearward toward the upstanding legs of the striker elements and down through the perforations in the underlying record sheet to engage the underlying upstanding legs of the striker elements and force said upstanding legs rearward and down to compress the underlying portions of said resilient pad means, said actuator arms upon continued movement of the rod moving their depending lips rearward beyond the upstanding legs of the engaged striker elements and then up and forward above said record sheet, said pad means upon the disengagement of the actuator arms from the engaged striker elements moving the depending front legs on the striker elements down into engagement with the underlying sounding elements.

6. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein each of said actuator arms is in the form of an integral sheet metal stamping formed with a loop on one end which rotatably receives the rod.

7. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein said resilient pad means is a foam rubber pad having slits extending down from its top surface between the striker elements to provide individual resilient supports for the striker elements.

8. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein said shaft member extends out through one side of the piano housing and forms part of a manually-operated crank.

9. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein the top of the piano housing has an elongated transverse slot therein which is located forward from said rod, and wherein there is provided means defining a chute which extends down and rearward from said slot and a wall which extend rearward below the rod and the stationary support and above the striker elements to guide the perforated record member across the top of the striker elements.

10. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein the means for advancing the record sheet comprises an additional actuator arm having a hinged connection to the rod and extending rearward therefrom across the top of said stationary support, said additional actuator arm having a depending lip located rearward from the support which extends down for engagement in the evenly spaced perforations in an underlying column on the record sheet.

11. An actuating mechanism for cooperation with a movable perforated record member, said actuating mechanism comprising a rotary member, a rod having a connection to said rotary member which is offset from the axis of rotation of said rotary member so that the rod revolves about said axis of rotation as the rotary member rotates, a stationary support spaced from said rod, and a plurality of actuator arms having hinge connections to said rod and extending therefrom across said support in sliding engagement with the support and beyond the support having projections which extend toward the record member, said actuator arms as the rod revolves being carried by the rod across said support and rocking about said support to move their respective projections toward the record member to pass through the perforations therein and thereafter to retract said projections away from the record member.

12. An actuating mechanism for cooperation with an underlying perforated record member, said actuating mechanism comprising a rotary shaft member, a rod extending parallel to the shaft member and having a connection to the shaft member which is offset from the axis of rotation of the shaft member so that the rod revolves about said axis as the shaft rotates, a stationary support located at one side of the shaft member in spaced relation thereto and extending substantially parallel to the rod, said rod in its uppermost position as it revolves being disposed higher than said support, and a plurality of actuator arms which at one end rotatably receive the rod, said actuator arms extending from the rod across the top of said support and at the opposite side of the support presenting depending lips which extend toward the underlyingrecord member, said actuator arms bearing against the top of said support due to their weight throughout the revolving movement of therod, and said actuator arms as the rod revolves sliding on said support. and. rocking about said support to move their depending. lips toward the record member and down through the perforations in the record member and thereafter back up away from the record member.

13. An actuating mechanism for cooperation with a 8 perforated 'record member having a plurality of columns of perforations therein, said actuating mechanism comprising av plurality of actuators which respectively have extremities facing towardoneface of said record member at the respective columns thereon, means for advancingsaid'record member to move said columns simultaneously past said extremities of the actuators and means for repeatedly rocking said actuators simultaneously to cause the extremities thereof which are at perforations in the record member to enter into such perforations, and to cause the remaining extremities to engage and ride over said one face of the record member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 433,935 Ehrlich Aug. 12, 1890 580,376 Claus et al. Apr. 13, 1897 2,769,362 Weinstein Nov. 6, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 64,647 Germany Dec. 22, 1891 

